Warcraft - The Legend of Abaris
The legend of the tauren Abaris, high-priest of the Sun God, presented here was created based on the Greek legend of Abaris the Hyperborean, an astounding sage, healer and prophet, priest of Apollo. The poem written by the night elf Havel was heavily based on the songs "An Arrow from the Sun" and "The Wand of Abaris" from the awesome symphonic heavy metal band Therion. 'The Life of Abaris' Abaris was one of the most prominent priests of Helion in the city of Helionte. He seemed to have been blessed by the Sun God himself with the gift of prophecy and a natural easiness to command divine magic. He was above all a good person who tried his best to live by the dogma of Helion and was known throughout the tauren lands by his compassion and readiness to help those in need. Rarkesh III, the tauren king, held Abaris in high regard (specially by his good advice as priest and prophet). The king's daughter, the princess Chandra, was to marry the young priest during the next Harvest Festival. 'The Prophecy' One day, however, Abaris had a prophetic dream. He dreamt of a great shadow which threatened the future, a power vast enough to destroy the world as all knew it. He wasted no time and told the high-priests and the king about his dream, but despite having always been right about his visions, everyone seemed to doubt him this time. Abaris insisted that his vision was true and soon became known as crazy and was ignored by the people he once served so well. 'Fighting the Darkness' But Abaris still had some true friends beside him: Zanian Goldrune, a dwarf warrior and his best friend; his lover Chandra, the tauren princess; and Havel Spellsong, a wandering night elf who befriended him a while back. His friends believed in him and helped Abaris to become a high-priest and to prepare to the upcoming battle. In his vision, Abaris saw the Titan Set trying to retrieve and dominate the power of the long imprisoned Apep, the elemental God of darkness, for himself. Abaris knew the task was difficult, almost impossible, but he also knew he was the only one standing between Set and the world. Alongside Zanian and Havel, he departed to fight Set. No one knows about the particulars of that battle, but the mortal heroes have won the day. However, the price was high: both Abaris and Havel died that day and Zanian, despite having survived, went crazy and mute after witnessing such horrors. 'The World after Abaris' When Abaris and his friends fought Set, everyone around the world knew what was happening (some say it was a divine inspired event, the gods showing the mortals their mistake for not believing their prophet). Set tried to dominate the power of the Dark God Apep, trying to become more powerful to overcome his brother Helion and to become the new head of the gods. Set managed to free Apep's essence without freeing the Old God himself and tried to absorb and control it. However, Set was corrupted and went mad. Abaris fought him and won, but that battle cost him his life. Zanian survived, but extremely altered - he arrived at Helionte carrying the bodies of Abaris and Havel. The three friends were proclaimed heroes by the people and their victory was celebrated. King Rarkesh III repented his actions and renounced his title in favor of his daughter Chandra (the princess never married, but she was pregnant with Abaris' child at that time, and thus the royal lineage went on). The people thought the world was safe, but they've forgotten that Set still lived and was now a crazy and twisted god, tainted by the darkness of Apep. Soon a war broke out among the gods. Set was mad, he was after more and more power, and he had an army of twisted creatures he created with the power of Apep, the demons. He fought against the other gods, but for each he slain, his power diminished instead of growing – this was part of the curse Abaris had cast on the Titan. However, he managed to attain his ultimate goal: to slay his brother Helion. When Helion was killed, all creation mourned him and the sun refused to shine for a long time afterwards. After this, Set became known as Sargeras, meaning the "Kinslayer". Sargeras had almost no power left and wasn't a god anymore; in fact, he became so weak that a handful of demons were almost as powerful as him at a time. However, Sargeras was becoming less and less mad as he embraced the darkness of Apep (and was dominated by it), and got a backup plan. He could feed on arcane magic, a power which he discovered with Apep and taught to some night elves (the race most capable of wielding it). He intended to invade the Material Plane so he and his legion of burning beasts could feed on the arcane power of the elves and regain some of his old titanic powers. The curse of Abaris also prevented him from traveling to the Material Plane – the only way he could do it was being summoned there by a mortal. Also, Sargeras intended to try breaking the seal Abaris has cast upon Apep – again a feat that could only be achieved with the help of mortals on the Material Plane. This resulted in the War of the Ancients and was the last phase of a chain of calamities that ravaged the world (or first phase, some would say today). 'Havel's Poem' The night elf Haven decided to write this poem to immortalize Abaris and his heroic story. Havel, however, knew he would die before finishing it, so he asked princess Chandra to do it in his behalf, recording it on the Book of Horem. Em Uldum nasceu o Sol Radiante deus Helion Do distante norte veio o profeta Receber a centelha, o raio de luz Abaris, tome as flechas do Sol Abaris, peregrino do reino sombrio Seu cajado ilumina as trevas Abaris, mostre-nos o caminho O Sol se esconde atrás de névoas Não há luz que possamos ver Mas um raio pode atravessar A letárgica ignorância penetrar '' ''Flechas do Sol adentrem nossas mentes Queimem nossas almas, nos faça ver A visão do portador do cajado Brilhante sabedoria faça nascer Abaris, tome as flechas do Sol Abaris, peregrino do reino sombrio Seu cajado ilumina as trevas Abaris, mostre-nos o caminho Cruzando as areias escaldantes Sumo-sacredote das terras táuricas Em seu rumo aos domínios gélidos De seu cajado o Sol flui A flecha do Sol, o cajado em suas mãos A chave de sua jornada pela escuridão Deixando os prados de seu lar Levando a luz através do mar O sonho de Abaris a nos guiar Lutando contra a negra profecia Entrando no santuário de Set Portão terreno das trevas de Apep Abaris, tome as flechas do Sol Abaris, peregrino do reino sombrio Seu cajado ilumina as trevas Abaris, mostre-nos o caminho Abaris, retesa o arco e atira Abaris, atira as flechas do Sol 'The Rediscovery of the Legend' Recently, a group of adventurers (former members of the Alliance, now divided between the Order and the Horde) have discovered evidences and artifacts remounting to the mysterious Abaris and are trying, under the tutelage of Cairne Bloodhoof and Turdak Blackthorn, to retrace and repair his legend. 'The Artifacts' During their adventures in search of ancient lore, the group has found some amazing itens. The Book of Horem: The book was found the temple of the Sun in Helionte and looks like an ordinary old book. The pages of the book look all blank, but if someone watches for some moments he will see words floating around the pages. The words doesn’t make any sense, they are only random words that were once written on the book. However, when correctly activated, the book allows someone to see events happened in the past if these events were recorded on the book. Depending on how the event was recorded, the book will show it differently. For example, if the event was written much like a romance, with description and speeches of each character involved in it, the book will reconstruct the scene, showing a great illusion effect affecting its surrounds. Anyone watching will feel like he is present at the event, for the simulation looks and feels real. Another possibility is if the event was written as a plain narrative, the book will show some images (again, an illusion effect) and the voice of the writer will tell the story. The book can only be activated by the same person to show one of its recorded memories up to three times. After it the person must wait one year and one day before using it again. Citrine Rod: A mysterious crystal rod was found inside Zanian’s sarcophagus in Uldum and it was the freed spirit of Zanian himself who told Pan Pan about the importance of this item and beckoned her to take it with her to the Stonetalon Mountains. The item is a perfectly carved slim cylinder of about 4 cm diameter and 35 cm height, made of citrine quartz. In a mausoleum at Syannodel, Havel’s mummified body guarded a similar item. The third and last citrine rod was found on Abaris’ mausoleum, right in front of the urn that holds his ashes. The three rods fit perfectly inside a staff found at the hands of Abaris’ armor (also inside his mausoleum). Zanian's weaponry: Inside Zanian's tomb in Uldum, right before his sarcophagus, was a pristine set of full plate armor and an amazing ugrosh. Both armor and weapon are golden and are enchanted with powerful magic. Golden feather and Solar disk: Upon returning from the realm of the dead, Sophtia held is her hands a feather and a solar disk, both made of gold. However, she didn’t know where they came from or what she was supposed to do with them – but the reference to Maat and Helion was much to striking to be ignored. The feather interfered with the activation of the Book of Horem and pointed to a location on the map showed by it: Syannodel, a ruined elven city. It seemed to act upon, and nullify, a barrier protecting the entrance to Havel’s mausoleum at Syannodel. It also guided the group to Abaris’ mausoleum (by becoming warmer when they were getting closer) and opened the gates leading to it. After this, it vanished. The Solar disk seems to be an ancient holy symbol, perhaps like the ones used by clerics and followers of Helion long ago. Havel's weaponry: It would be expected that Havel’s mummy would also guard his weaponry, but none was found when the group got there. Abaris's bow: Found with a life-size statue of Abaris inside his mausoleum, the bow is an extremely powerful weapon. Its golden frame bears no string and it can create arrows and shoot them like blazing sunbeams, banishing any darkness. When Aysha touched the bow, it melded with her own weapon – an effect which only lasted while she was inside the consecrated area around the statue. Abaris's armor: It was found inside Abaris’ burial chamber, holding the staff (see below). Abaris's staff: This hollow golden staff is the key for breaking Apep’s seal. However, first it must be filled with the three citrine rods. Besides, it holds great Sun-inspired magical powers. Ring of Mehen: The last part of the staff was received by the group from Abaris himself. It can channel the power of Mehen, the elemental god of light, into the staff wielder, transforming he/she in an avatar of light. 'Locations' These ancient places lie in ruins (for the most part) and were not touched or found over the millennia (except for some minor problems like harpies, kobolds and lizardfolk). Abaris’ Mausoleum: This huge temple-like structure was build by Abaris himself (after becoming a celestial creature by the will and grace of Helion) to house his mortal remains and to guard his staff and one of the three citrine rods. It is located at a small valley in the Stonetalon Mountains (near to the Ashenvale Forest) and is protected by a magical barrier. Dawnhome: This huge temple honors all the gods in the ancient pantheon (except Set/Sargeras). It is located in the border of the elemental “planes” of air and light and now it is the home of Abaris. Helionte: The city was named in honor of the Sun God Helion and appears to have been the capital of the ancient tauren kingdom. When the group found it, there were two kinds of inhabitants there, a tribe of kobolds led by a queen and a group of lizardfolk led by a black dragon. Syannodel: '''This was an ancient kaldorei town, from the time before the War of Ancients, which had the biggest and richest temple of Elune; the city, therefore, was known as “City of the Moon”. Havel’s body was brought here and a beautiful mausoleum was built to house it inside the catacombs of Elune’s temple. '''Uldum: It was believed that Helion was born in this place. The city was constructed by taurens and dwarves and a huge temple was build in honor of Helion and his twin sister Elune. The city was empty when the group found it, only the traces of an ancient battle remains and even the harpies seemed to avoid the city streets. The first exploration team was sent by the dwarves of Bael-Modan and died before reaching the temple of Helion and Elune. At the undercity, there was a great graveyard-like chamber with pyramids for the dwarves and one of them as Zanian’s. Category:Story Category:Settings